Golf Card Game Rules

Objective

Golf is a card game in which the lowest score wins, just like the sport. Each player has six cards in a grid of two rows and three columns. On every turn you draw a card and either swap it into your grid or throw it away, trying to replace high cards with low ones and to line up matching pairs in a column. A round is a hole; a game is nine holes, and the lowest total after the ninth wins.

Players, cards and the deal

• Players: 2 on CardCouch, head-to-head against the computer. With a physical deck the game is usually played by 2 to 4; larger groups add a second deck.
• Deck: a standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• The layout: each player receives 6 cards face down, arranged in 2 rows of 3. Players may not look at them.
• Stock and discard: the remaining cards form the face-down stock, and its top card is turned face up to start the discard pile.
• Dealer: the deal alternates each hole, and the non-dealer plays first. The computer deals the first hole, so you go first on hole 1, the computer on hole 2, and so on.

The two opening flips

Before the first turn of every hole, each player turns any two of their six cards face up. On CardCouch you tap the two cards you want to reveal; the computer flips two of its own at the same time. The other four cards stay hidden — from you as well as your opponent — until they are flipped or swapped out later in the hole.

Taking a turn

A turn always starts with a draw and always ends with a card going onto the discard pile.

1. Draw one card: either the top card of the stock (face down, unknown until you pick it up) or the top card of the discard pile (face up, known to both players).
2. Swap it in: place the drawn card face up in any of your six positions. It may replace a face-up card or a face-down card you have never seen. The card it replaces goes face up onto the discard pile, and your turn ends.
3. Or discard it and flip: if — and only if — the card came from the stock, you may throw it straight onto the discard pile. You must then turn one of your face-down cards face up. That is the common rule and the one CardCouch uses; some home tables make the flip optional (see the variations below).

Column pairs

When the two cards in the same column — one in the top row and one directly beneath it — have the same rank, they cancel out and the column scores zero, no matter what the cards are worth on their own. A pair of Queens scores 0 instead of 20. Suits do not matter, and cards next to each other in a row never pair. On CardCouch a paired column is highlighted.

Card values in brief

• Ace = 1
• Two = −2 (the best card in the deck)
• 3 to 10 = face value
• Jack, Queen = 10
• King = 0
• Two cards of equal rank in one column = 0 for the column

Worked examples and the full scoring table are on the Golf scoring page.

Ending a hole: the final turn

As soon as a player has all six cards face up — whether by flipping their last hidden card or by swapping it out — the hole begins to close. The other player then gets exactly one more turn — the common rule, and the one CardCouch uses; some tables end the hole immediately instead. After that final turn, any cards still face down are turned over, and both grids are scored. On CardCouch there is no bonus for going out first and no penalty for going out with the higher score; it simply ends the hole.

When the stock runs out

If the stock is empty when a player wants to draw, the discard pile — all of it except the top card — is shuffled to form a new stock, and play continues.

The nine-hole game

A game is nine holes. Each hole's score is added to a running total on the scorecard, and the player with the lowest total after the ninth hole wins. A tied total is a tied game. CardCouch keeps the scorecard for you and shows it in full when the game ends.

Rules at a glance

Common variations

Golf has many local variants, and no governing body to settle them. These are the ones you are most likely to meet; none are used on CardCouch:

• No final turn: the hole ends the moment a player has all six cards face up, with no extra turn for anyone else.
• Optional flip: after discarding a stock draw you may turn a card up rather than must — or no flip at all.
• Four-Card Golf: a 2×2 grid. Players usually peek once at their two nearest cards and turn them back face down, a swapped-in card is placed face up, and the hole ends when a player knocks. Details vary a lot from table to table.
• Nine-Card Golf: a 3×3 grid with three opening flips, where three of a kind in a row or column (some also count diagonals) score 0; often played with two decks.
• Jokers: two jokers worth −2 (or −5), sometimes with twos then counting their face value.
• Going-out penalty: a player who goes out but does not have the lowest score is charged double, or a flat 10.
• Knocking: instead of the hole ending when all cards are up, a player knocks to give everyone one last turn.
• Four of a kind: the same rank in two adjacent columns scores −10 (some say −20) instead of 0.
• Eighteen holes for a longer game.

Frequently asked questions

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